Milorad Dodik previously stated that Putin should "thank Republika Srpska for Bosnia’s failure to impose sanctions against Russia".
< p>Russian-backed Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik appeared on state television and announced his plans to become the first president of the breakaway Bosnian Serb state.
This is stated in the Bloomberg material about the strengthening of Russian influence in the Balkans.
“The statement, which evoked memories of brutal ethnic cleansing that took place in the region almost three decades ago, came only a month after the European Commission refused to recommend accession negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the material says.
Bloomberg writes that in a country considered Europe's hottest spot after Ukraine, the European Commission's decision was a gift for political players like Russia seeking to provoke instability.
“The declaration, which stirred memories of the region's brutal ethnic cleansing nearly three decades ago, comes just a month after the European Commission refused to recommend accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina,” it said. in the material.
Bosnia, a land of 3.3 million physically divided between Bosnian Serbs on one side and Muslims and ethnic Croats on the other, applied for EU membership in 2016 and gained candidate status last year.
“But her dream of European integration, which would help hold the Western Balkans country together despite ongoing tensions, looks distant at best,” writes Bloomberg.
The Dayton Peace Accords ended a four-year war in which more than 100 people died. thousand people, but they died more than 100 thousand people, but the demographic split in the country.
The Serbs, an Orthodox Christian majority, were given a tract of land along the western and eastern borders known as the Republika Srpska, while the Muslim-Croat federation received roughly equal amounts of territory in the southwest.
The two parts are loosely united by a weak central government and a rotating three-person presidency whose members must be chosen from each group. Since all constitutional changes require consensus, this structure allows any of the ethnic leaders to hold Bosnia's EU accession process hostage.
Bosnia and Herzegovina says pro-Russian Milorad Dodik has refused to implement reforms needed to move forward unless his demands are met.
Milorad Dodik and his relationship with Putin
“Dodik's cozy relationship with Putin, whom he often visits in Moscow, has paid dividends for both of them,” writes Bloomberg.
In the city of Banja Luka, Russia is helping to finance the construction of a Russian-Serbian temple and cultural center.
Previously, Dodik stated that the head of the Kremlin should “thank Republika Srpska for Bosnia’s failure to impose sanctions against Russia.”
What they say in the EU
The EU is concerned about the situation in the Balkans.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevich said that the failure to achieve rapprochement between the Western Balkans and the European Union has increased Russia's influence in the region and made the EU more vulnerable.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg believes that Bosnia should be treated on an equal basis with Ukraine, which is moving forward in the accession process. The publication writes that other neighboring countries may soon face similar problems.
Read the leading news of the day:
Milorad Dodik and the openly separatist law
President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik signed a law refusing to publish in the Republika Srpska acts and laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which outraged the high representative of BiH Christian Schmidt. He annulled two laws that ignored the provisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH.
The United States imposed sanctions against two individuals and four companies that make up the bulk of the patronage network of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik.
Note that Western governments have long viewed Serbia as an indispensable Balkan voice, sometimes at the expense of more peripheral players.
Earlier, the Serbian President threatened that Ukraine would “lose everything” if it recognized Kosovo’s independence.
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